The Board of Education voted to keep a largely wooded, 20.18-acre tract in northern Cumberland County for future use as the district weighs long-term school construction and consolidation needs.
During a September 18 work session, Kevin Coleman, the district’s associate superintendent for auxiliary services, presented three options: retain the land, prepare it for sale, or complete additional reviews before making a final decision. Board members considered the property’s location and potential value alongside declining districtwide enrollment and capacity at nearby schools.
The school system purchased the property along Elliot Farm Road with a total investment of $600,000 for the land and related utility and roadway improvement in 2015. Coleman estimated it could now be worth between $900,000 and slightly more than $1 million, though the district had not completed a formal appraisal.
Known in district records as the “Broadwell Land Company School Tract,” the property is on the south side of Elliot Farm Road near Elliot Bridge Road, Interstate 295, and the Ramsey Street corridor. The presentation included a conceptual school to demonstrate how the tract could be developed, but Coleman cautioned that the district was not proposing construction.
“This does not mean that this is a proposal for a school site,” Coleman said. “We are simply illustrating why the property could have strategic value for us.”
The board voted 6-2 to retain the property, with Deanna Jones and Terra Jordan opposed.
Why Did the District Buy the Land?
The district purchased the property in 2015 after evaluating it as the site of a possible elementary school. A site investigation prepared before the purchase described northern Cumberland County as shifting from largely agricultural land toward residential development and said a new single-family subdivision was planned beside the tract.
Coleman said that growth was part of the reason the district acquired the property.
“The outskirts of Cumberland County continued to spread out, including the north side of town,” Coleman said. “It was purchased in 2015 for this reason.”
The raw land cost $200,000, or approximately $10,000 per acre, according to the district. The proposal included another $240,000 for sewer work, $40,000 for water work, and $120,000 for roadway improvements. Coleman placed the district’s total investment at approximately $600,000, or $30,000 per acre.
The 2015 site investigation described the property as heavily wooded with pine and hardwood trees. The report found no ponds or streams on the tract and determined that its topography, road access, zoning, and nearby utilities could accommodate an elementary school. The district never moved forward with building a school on the site.
Coleman said the board now had to decide whether the property holds more long-term value for the school system than the money it could generate through a sale.
“There are legitimate concerns on both sides,” Coleman said.
Retaining the land would preserve a site for a school or other use, give long-term facility plans time to develop, and prevent the district from having to purchase property later in an area where land could become more expensive.
Selling it would turn an unused asset into available money, remove future maintenance and liability concerns, and allow the property to return to public or private use if the district identifies no long-term need for it.
“None of this tells us today that we need to build a new school on this property,” Coleman said. “What it does tell us is there are enough long-term facility concerns to warrant the conversation.”
Crowded Elementary Schools Nearby
The district’s presentation identified three nearby elementary schools operating near the upper limits of their buildings.
Howard Hall Elementary has 553 students and space for 571, placing it at 96.85% utilization. Long Hill Elementary has 434 students and capacity for 444, or 97.75% utilization. Raleigh Road Elementary, which serves kindergarten and first grade, has 201 students and capacity for 224, placing it at 89.73%.
Coleman said those numbers show limited additional space at elementary schools in that part of the county, even as overall district enrollment declines.
Board member Mary Hales supported keeping the property because of the growth occurring around it.
“My recommendation is that we keep it and maintain it for future use,” Hales said. “It is a great asset because that area is going to grow.”
Jones questioned whether the district’s falling average daily membership (ADM) could eventually reduce the need for another school.
“I’m on the opposite side because of declining ADM,” Jones said. “If you’re going to keep it, then we need to revisit it. You’re saying it’s growing, but the numbers may come down in the future.”
Could the Land Support Consolidation?
Board members said the original plan involved the possible consolidation of Long Hill and Raleigh Road elementary schools.
Board member Greg West said both schools sit along Ramsey Street, where traffic conditions make arrival and dismissal difficult. He argued that the Elliot Farm Road property could preserve an option to combine the campuses if the district eventually decides to replace them.
“They’re two little schools that would be primed and combined into one school,” West said. “The land is not going to get cheaper.”
West also questioned how much the district would gain by selling the property because the school system does not pay property taxes and has limited carrying costs for the undeveloped land.
“I don’t think we gain much from selling it and taking away an option,” West said.
Board member Susan Williams also recalled earlier discussions about combining Long Hill and Raleigh Road. She said Raleigh Road is landlocked and has little room to expand, while Long Hill is operating near capacity.
“The plan was for that to be the consolidation, and we just never got anything off the ground,” Williams said. “We couldn’t get the money. Let’s put it that way.”
Williams called the tract a green space and supported retaining it while the district continues reviewing its property needs.
“They’re not making any more land,” Williams said. “If we need it, I don’t know where we would find it.”
Middle Schools Raise Longer-Term Questions
The presentation also identified Pine Forest and Spring Lake middle schools as possible sites of consolidation or replacement.
Pine Forest is operating at 73.77% utilization and has an estimated $9.14 million in deferred maintenance needs. Spring Lake is operating at 60.67% utilization and has approximately $3.28 million in deferred maintenance needs.
Coleman said neither school was included in the district’s initial round of consolidation projects, but they could be considered during a later phase of its long-term facilities plan.
Board member Jackie Warner asked what consolidating the two middle schools could look like.
Coleman compared the possibility to the district’s approved plan to combine Ferguson-Easley and Margaret Willis elementary schools on a new campus.
The district’s consolidation plan calls for a new elementary school on the Ferguson-Easley campus that could serve students from Ferguson-Easley and Margaret Willis elementary schools, pending a final decision on whether to close Margaret Willis.
He said Pine Forest and Spring Lake did not make the first round of projects but could return for discussion after the district completes its current construction and consolidation plans.
“If I could fast-forward seven years and we’ve got all the schools planned, this would be brought to you as the next phase of consolidations,” Coleman said. “It just didn’t make the cut.”
The board’s vote keeps the Elliot Farm Road property available while those plans develop.
